Tag Archives: branding

it’s crunch time! construction is underway, permits are in play, help wanted ads are on their way… things to do, things to-do. i’m gitty and nervous at the same time. alot can still go wrong–like more construction going over budget, furniture not arriving on time, or worse inspectors being dicks. at this juncture i’m at the mercy of variables out of my control.

but when i take a step back, take a deep, breath, it’s really not that bad. between the stress of meetings and timelines i get to enjoy tasting like this with our first incubated chef:

jared formerly of orson / citizen cake looks on as we slice into his sample brioche loaf

and after tastings i get to spend time with creatives on the branding like this:

freddy anzures giving us a sneak peak of The Summit's brand identity

or spending time with the incubated start-ups:

the first gathering of i/o venture partners, incubated start-ups, and their tech mentors

but for the next 3o days my attention will be focused on the builders and designers of the summit space:

kanbayashi design + travis construction = the build-out of the summit

10 months of planning and day dreaming are coming to culmination. inside i’m dreading the long hours it’ll take to see this thru. gone are my weekend jaunts across SF’s myriad of night clubs. gone are the 11a-6p days of leisure. the little voice in my head tells me “i should be careful what i wish for” because dreams do become realities…

the past few days have shown rapid development of the brand identity and the design of the bar. below are new mood boards exploring typefaces. the inspiration is leaning towards olympic design aesthetics. in particular is the design work of otl aicher for the 72 olympics in munich.

my favorite of fonts choosen is the bauhaus font highlighted in blue. it’s got clean lines and beautiful curves in the U and M letter forms that complement the space nicely, yet with an air of modernity to it (imagine me swirling a glass of wine while i say that).

on the interior design front, brent has redesigned the coffee counter of the bar to be a swooping curve. in the previous mock-up, the coffee counter / order stand was a hard diagonal line. this version is much better because the bags of coffee and tea are now centered with pastry displays on either-end. the 3 guys in the back simulate 2 cashiers and a barista setting when there’s high demand for coffee.

while the space is being constructed, im working in parallel to get the branding and identity developed. i’ve tapped dave and dre my former partners in electric friends–a boutique design firm we formed years ago, but disbanded as life took us in different directions. after sending them a short creative brief, we’re off to our first step in the branding process: exploring colors and mood boards.

imagery based on a utopian futurist society

colors bright but muted--like a 60's olympic poster, but left slightly faded by the sun

the vibe dre wants to exude is confidence, modernity, futurism, optimism and fun